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Am I being unreasonable here?

supercorndogs

Ham Fisted Gorilla
Full Member
Minuteman
Feb 17, 2014
13,243
17,620
Colorado
I purchased a Remage barrel from another member. It was built by a fairly well known maker. I get the barrel in, throw it in my vice and start to thread on a QD for a suppressor and the threads are loose. So I pull it and mic it. .612 is the major diameter, well undersized to the point of being not safe for a 5/8x24.

I PM the other member, they say all work was done by the barrel maker. Send it back to me and I will refund you.

I say, let me contact the maker and see if they will fix it. I email them about it with the measurements, and they send me a shipping label. I package it up, slap their label on it, and take it to UPS. Then the package disappears, no one ever scans the thing anywhere.

I contact UPS, and go to the facility and talk to the manager, and the person whom's hands I literally put the package in. They say, we don't know how it could have happened, are you sure you didn't drop it off somewhere else? You will have to call the 800 number and file a claim. I am like what fucking year is this, where are the cameras to see me walking in, and whomever walking out with my package?

I call and UPS says, nope not your label, not your account, you can't start a claim.

So, I email the barrel maker and they ask for the name on the order to get a value for the claim. then they start the claim. Yesterday UPS agreed to pay on the claim. The value of the package claimed by the maker is 420 dollars, the pay out from UPS is 100 dollars, which happens to be the max amount they pay on uninsured packages.

So the barrel maker emailed me to say, here is your hundred bucks. Where do we send it?

I told them no, it was lost on your label, it was shipped because of your faulty workmanship. You keep the 100 dollars and send me barrel like I sent in. Only with correct muzzle threading.

They tell me we don't know who purchased the barrel, and we don't know if the muzzle was threaded here, so we will allow you to apply that 100 to a new barrel. So that is a new barrel for -100 dollars plus the cost of the used barrel, that was lost on their label, uninsured, and is only being payed out for 100 bucks because they didn't insure the package. So I would then be into a 492 dollar barrel for 592 dollars.

Is it unreasonable of me to expect the owner of the un-insured label and the maker of the barrel to bear the cost of the barrel being lost. It seems to me they gambled with my money to save a dime, and now want to push the cost off any losses on me.

Am I being unreasonable or otherwise entitled? I don't have or make much money anymore, so I could be over sensitive when I feel someone is unfairly pulling form my cup. What do think a fair resolution would be? I could definelty see some out of pocket coast to me to go from a used barrel {less than 200 rounds} to a new barrel, but not to the point where it costs me more than a new barrel. Unless of course, I was the who shipped it uninsured, at which point it would have been my baby.
 
You gotta admit, you found your way into the perfect clusterfuck. Your point is valid, and I agree. On the other hand, if I were the maker, id have been skeptical of the barrel history, and hesitant to bring it back on my dime. He/they went out in a limb by sending the label in the interest of good CS likely. Yes it shoulda been insured. Everyone stepped in it a little bit. Buyer never noticed the shitty threads, you didn't ensure they scanned your package, maker let the shitty threads out the door(allegedly) AND didn't send an insured label. Im sure theres a more nuanced angle im missing.

Im thinking you’re probably gonna have to eat this one though.
 
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Sounds like the maker is acting in good faith. Had the barrel reached their facility it seems as they were willing to work with you. That being said the shipping issue definitely sucks. As stated above you will probably eat this one.
 
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Damn
That’s kinda BS!
They cheaped out on shipping and hosed you
The extra $$ for insurance is so cheap 😡
 
Their fault for not adding enough insurance, who is it?
 
If you have ever tried to deal with "insurance" from any of the big 3 shippers (USPS, UPS, FedEx) you may see why the barrel maker didn't pay for "insurance". It is VERY difficult to get any of the shipping companies I mentioned to pay a claim. I am speaking from personal experiences.
 
But yeah, shitty situation. Sorry I'm really no help. Just offering a different perspective.
 
Ask the seller to provide the invoice/email trail as proof the barrel was truly threaded by the maker, so you can proceed from a position of strength. If he won't provide proof it was factory threaded- assume he knew the threads were out of spec/not safe.

Depending on the outcome of the above- you should give us the name of the party who likely caused the threading problem- which will be either the barrel maker or the seller.
 
Surprised UPS filed the claim honestly. A little off topic I sold a PVS14 shipped and insured in full and the gain knob got bent. Filed the claim so they could repair it. They denied it saying it was improperly packaged which was absolute horseshit.

I kind of agree on the maker being hesitant but they should've insured it. Though like I said I'm skeptical they'd have honored anything over $100
 
In this world of choices where features, functions, speeds and feeds mush together as brands fight for a fair share of the available market ... the abiding relationships and true value of a brand come from how that company reacts to and recovers negative customer experiences. This manufacturer failed that test the minute they refused to take ownership for "their shipment on their label". There's a whopping big difference between a "satisfied" customer, and a "loyal" customer. A satisfied customer (or dissatisfied in this case) will buy based on price and availability. A loyal customer will buy no matter what ... from a company that's earned their loyalty. And that loyal customer will advocate publicly for the companies that have earned their loyalty. The converse is also true ... that a dissatisfied customer will tell everyone they know about their negative experience.

To save a couple of hundred dollars of gross margin, this company is going to squander many times that amount in lost sales as we in the community eventually learn who they are.

Imagine what would have happened if this guy had come up on the forum and said ... "Here's what happened: ______________ and it was bad, but this wonderful company, no questions asked, built and shipped a replacement barrel that fits and shoots beautifully ...".

Would some of us buy from that company in the future? I know I would ... but now I won't.

Here endeth the lesson.
 
being devils advocate,

from the barrel mfg company they dont even know if you put a barrel in the box, and if you did..is it their barrel

being a business owner and consumer is see both sides

secondly, this is why companies have lawyers write up a purchase order contract template and dont just put a product on a print out from quickbooks.

if there was fine print in place there is no debate, now there is no fine print and even though your both acting in good faith there is still debate.

my company has all the "fine print" you can imagine on contracts so this debate never shows up, because it has

when it gets down to it...its burden of proof on your part

no proof its a pissing match...proof...lawsuit (of course not for this small amount etc)

this is one reason why people hate lawyers, lawyers are "dragged" in and now they would piss off you the customer or the MFG.


truthfully, i think if cool heads prevail you might get another 100$ or so off the barrel or maybe "free" muzz threading

he has to cover his material costs, but he can stay on saturday and run a lathe "for free"
 
Do you have a copy of the original invoice from the barrel maker from when the barrel was made, showing the order & the work that was done on it from the barrel maker before shipping?

Being that you are a 3rd party, not the original customer, that simply says you were shipping back a barrel that is said to be one they made from someone else you purchased it from, you might find you don't get much further than what UPS offers.

Either way, I'd suggest you be nice and civil with the barrel maker and see if they can offer a decent discount on a barrel for you to work it out.
My guess is if you play all hard, you won't get very far and they will wash their hands of you.
 
Keep pushing the barrel maker to get you a new barrel. A lot of times with UPS and FedEx contracts the shipper is self insured and gets lower rates to eat the claims. Naturally he is going to try to mitigate his losses by only giving you $100. Don’t let up keep pushing and he will probably give in.
 
I'm going to say the seller of the barrel and you should come up with something for partial reimbursement or split the cost of new barrel plus the 100 bucks from UPS. You were sending the bad barrel he sold you in on HIS behalf.

I see a lot of ways this can go. But the barrel maker was just acting in good faith and surprised you even got a shipping label not being the origonal owner. Sucks your the middle man who is getting the shift now.
 
truthfully, i think if cool heads prevail you might get another 100$ or so off the barrel or maybe "free" muzz threading

he has to cover his material costs, but he can stay on saturday and run a lathe "for free"

I would guess that if the OP was to play nice and try their best to work out a compromise with the barrel maker, especially if they can get and send over an original copy of the sales invoice for the barrel, the barrel maker would probably be able to work out a significantly discounted replacement barrel.

Just as a note, giving stuff to a regularly scheduled pickup driver they are much more likely to scan it in & make sure it gets to the unload point than the guys at the counter who truly don't care.

Also did the OP nicely tape down the label or just stick it on and hope for the best?
I'm always surprised how many people trust their sticky paper to stay stuck rather than properly tape it down with nice wide clear tape.
I've seen what happens to those sticky labels in hot or cold weather and wouldn't trust one without taping.
 
I package it up, slap their label on it, and take it to UPS.
I ship customers' stuff UPS regularly.
When dropping off shipments (prepaid labels), they put them on the scale, scan them, then say "Do you want a receipt?"

Damn right I do- I never leave without one. Even when there's a line, and I could just drop the shipments on the counter and leave- I'll wait in line to make sure I get a shipment confirmation.

You're caught between a rock and a hard place as the saying goes. While you may be a stand-up individual, believe me when I say there is no shortage of scammers out there.
 
You were sending the bad barrel he sold you in on HIS behalf.

I see a lot of ways this can go. But the barrel maker was just acting in good faith and surprised you even got a shipping label not being the origonal owner. Sucks your the middle man who is getting the shift now.

Not exactly.
Had the OP packaged the barrel up and shipped it back to the seller, as the seller offered.
On the OP's dime and with a service they controlled, it would have all been done and over once the seller received it back, refunded the OP and then they could have sent it on to the maker and dealt with it.

Once OP decided not to send it back to the seller, but to deal with the manufacturer directly and send it back to the maker. Then it was out of the sellers hands, the seller had no more ability to control what was done and shouldn't be held responsible for the OP loosing a package they were shipping to someone else.

Then again I'm not one of the ones who whine all day about who is going to pay for the return shipping and all that. I deal with enough stuff we order that is wrong that most of the time I'm just... tell me where to send it back to and your reference number & I'll take care of it, so I have control over the shipping, insuring, claims process.
 
Read some of above and respectfully disagree. As soon as this manufacturer issued the RMA and provided a Return Label ... they owned the customer experience and the whole "not the original buyer" thing goes away.

Question #1 for the OP ... just to be clear ... Did that box with that tracking number ever show in the UPS systems ... or is it UPS' contention that they never received the package?

Question #2 for the OP ... Did you get a receipt for the package when they took it over the counter at UPS?

If the answer to both questions is "No" ... then you should take that $100 and apply it to a new barrel from these guys, and argue that they should provide it at "cost" and not at their "published price". (That's an argument you can usually win.)

If the answer to either or both questions is "Yes", then the barrel company should make it 100% right for you.
 
Doesn't even matter if an empty box was shipped...the manufacturer provided the shipping label, at that point they took responsibility for the shipment. The fact that UPS is offering to pay tells me that they admit receiving it. At the very least,the mfg should offer a barrel at enough of a discount that the OP isn't underwater on the whole thing.

I had a riflescope that the elevation adjustment stopped working the second trip to the range. Contacted the mfg, they said ship it back. I used USPS, insured. A month later I check in with the MFG, they say they never recieved it, USPS says it was delivered...end of story I'm hosed (good thing it wasn't an expensive scope).
 
Not exactly.
Had the OP packaged the barrel up and shipped it back to the seller, as the seller offered.
On the OP's dime and with a service they controlled, it would have all been done and over once the seller received it back, refunded the OP and then they could have sent it on to the maker and dealt with it.

Once OP decided not to send it back to the seller, but to deal with the manufacturer directly and send it back to the maker. Then it was out of the sellers hands, the seller had no more ability to control what was done and shouldn't be held responsible for the OP loosing a package they were shipping to someone else.

Then again I'm not one of the ones who whine all day about who is going to pay for the return shipping and all that. I deal with enough stuff we order that is wrong that most of the time I'm just... tell me where to send it back to and your reference number & I'll take care of it, so I have control over the shipping, insuring, claims process.
I agree here that the seller should be omitted from the equation, his offer was refused or bypassed however you spell it.

But the barrel maker, who assumed it was his product enough to issue a shipping label is IMO, is responsible for the lost barrel. His shipping label, he chose not to insure it.
 
Read some of above and respectfully disagree. As soon as this manufacturer issued the RMA and provided a Return Label ... they owned the customer experience and the whole "not the original buyer" thing goes away.

Question #1 for the OP ... just to be clear ... Did that box with that tracking number ever show in the UPS systems ... or is it UPS' contention that they never received the package?

Question #2 for the OP ... Did you get a receipt for the package when they took it over the counter at UPS?

If the answer to both questions is "No" ... then you should take that $100 and apply it to a new barrel from these guys, and argue that they should provide it at "cost" and not at their "published price". (That's an argument you can usually win.)

If the answer to either or both questions is "Yes", then the barrel company should make it 100% right for you.
not necessarily

a return authorization is not a admission of guilt nor does it change company policy

a real company has a return authorization SOP

if that SOP states buyer be ware etc. and that is on the fine print...the customer is "on the hook"


did the mfg state that a return label will be minimally/basic insured?

did the mfg offer the possibility of increasing the insured value at cost to the customer?

if the customer was made aware and the package is now lost, its on the customer.

lots of unanswered questions for a definitive answer to be made
 
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In this world of choices where features, functions, speeds and feeds mush together as brands fight for a fair share of the available market ... the abiding relationships and true value of a brand come from how that company reacts to and recovers negative customer experiences. This manufacturer failed that test the minute they refused to take ownership for "their shipment on their label". There's a whopping big difference between a "satisfied" customer, and a "loyal" customer. A satisfied customer (or dissatisfied in this case) will buy based on price and availability. A loyal customer will buy no matter what ... from a company that's earned their loyalty. And that loyal customer will advocate publicly for the companies that have earned their loyalty. The converse is also true ... that a dissatisfied customer will tell everyone they know about their negative experience.

To save a couple of hundred dollars of gross margin, this company is going to squander many times that amount in lost sales as we in the community eventually learn who they are.

Imagine what would have happened if this guy had come up on the forum and said ... "Here's what happened: ______________ and it was bad, but this wonderful company, no questions asked, built and shipped a replacement barrel that fits and shoots beautifully ...".

Would some of us buy from that company in the future? I know I would ... but now I won't.

Here endeth the lesson.

being devils advocate,

from the barrel mfg company they dont even know if you put a barrel in the box, and if you did..is it their barrel

being a business owner and consumer is see both sides

secondly, this is why companies have lawyers write up a purchase order contract template and dont just put a product on a print out from quickbooks.

if there was fine print in place there is no debate, now there is no fine print and even though your both acting in good faith there is still debate.

my company has all the "fine print" you can imagine on contracts so this debate never shows up, because it has

when it gets down to it...its burden of proof on your part

no proof its a pissing match...proof...lawsuit (of course not for this small amount etc)

this is one reason why people hate lawyers, lawyers are "dragged" in and now they would piss off you the customer or the MFG.


truthfully, i think if cool heads prevail you might get another 100$ or so off the barrel or maybe "free" muzz threading

he has to cover his material costs, but he can stay on saturday and run a lathe "for free"


^^^Both. I run a business in a totally different industry. 2021 was a nightmare of people trying to get things for free. When I price a project I have a very detailed scope of work and it is explained verbally, and in writing, that if it isn't listed, it isn't included in the price. I sell a mid level to premium product that is not cheap, but not as expensive as some. I had VERY few problems with this until 2021. For a year, nearly 80% of my customers said, but you are expensive, this should be included. It had been and still is my policy to make customers happy no matter what. However, this last year I realized that my profit was drastically lower because of all the extras I included because of complaining(Most was related to wanting more, then backing off for price reasons, and then asking for the original for the lower price.) I also know, from repeat customers that their perception was that the service was better, not worse. Something changed. A lot of people are trying to get something for nothing. I still will give away freebies but only to a certain extent if things are going well. There have been situations where I recognized that mistakes were made by me (my company), and I did $10's of thousands for free to try to save face. That is very different.

In my opinion it would have been cheap advertising to take care of the barrel for free. I don't know the smith's situation and everything is relative. Maybe the few hundred dollars was a make or brake amount for them and they really had no proof from the customer that it was even their problem to own.
 
I purchased a Remage barrel from another member. It was built by a fairly well known maker. I get the barrel in, throw it in my vice and start to thread on a QD for a suppressor and the threads are loose. So I pull it and mic it. .612 is the major diameter, well undersized to the point of being not safe for a 5/8x24.

I PM the other member, they say all work was done by the barrel maker. Send it back to me and I will refund you.

I say, let me contact the maker and see if they will fix it. I email them about it with the measurements, and they send me a shipping label. I package it up, slap their label on it, and take it to UPS. Then the package disappears, no one ever scans the thing anywhere.

I contact UPS, and go to the facility and talk to the manager, and the person whom's hands I literally put the package in. They say, we don't know how it could have happened, are you sure you didn't drop it off somewhere else? You will have to call the 800 number and file a claim. I am like what fucking year is this, where are the cameras to see me walking in, and whomever walking out with my package?

I call and UPS says, nope not your label, not your account, you can't start a claim.

So, I email the barrel maker and they ask for the name on the order to get a value for the claim. then they start the claim. Yesterday UPS agreed to pay on the claim. The value of the package claimed by the maker is 420 dollars, the pay out from UPS is 100 dollars, which happens to be the max amount they pay on uninsured packages.

So the barrel maker emailed me to say, here is your hundred bucks. Where do we send it?

I told them no, it was lost on your label, it was shipped because of your faulty workmanship. You keep the 100 dollars and send me barrel like I sent in. Only with correct muzzle threading.

They tell me we don't know who purchased the barrel, and we don't know if the muzzle was threaded here, so we will allow you to apply that 100 to a new barrel. So that is a new barrel for -100 dollars plus the cost of the used barrel, that was lost on their label, uninsured, and is only being payed out for 100 bucks because they didn't insure the package. So I would then be into a 492 dollar barrel for 592 dollars.

Is it unreasonable of me to expect the owner of the un-insured label and the maker of the barrel to bear the cost of the barrel being lost. It seems to me they gambled with my money to save a dime, and now want to push the cost off any losses on me.

Am I being unreasonable or otherwise entitled? I don't have or make much money anymore, so I could be over sensitive when I feel someone is unfairly pulling form my cup. What do think a fair resolution would be? I could definelty see some out of pocket coast to me to go from a used barrel {less than 200 rounds} to a new barrel, but not to the point where it costs me more than a new barrel. Unless of course, I was the who shipped it uninsured, at which point it would have been my baby.

The freakin gun industry……Judas priest!

When I have a product sent back to me on MY label, the insurance is on me. There is no way on gods green earth, I would send someone a label for a product that I screwed up, then expect the sender to eat the loss if the shipper I chose, lost it.

Since he went ahead and filed a claim there appears no question about it being sent and like you said video could have cleared that up.

Who was this barrel maker?
 
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Read some of above and respectfully disagree. As soon as this manufacturer issued the RMA and provided a Return Label ... they owned the customer experience and the whole "not the original buyer" thing goes away.

Question #1 for the OP ... just to be clear ... Did that box with that tracking number ever show in the UPS systems ... or is it UPS' contention that they never received the package?

Question #2 for the OP ... Did you get a receipt for the package when they took it over the counter at UPS?

If the answer to both questions is "No" ... then you should take that $100 and apply it to a new barrel from these guys, and argue that they should provide it at "cost" and not at their "published price". (That's an argument you can usually win.)

If the answer to either or both questions is "Yes", then the barrel company should make it 100% right for you.
If usp is paying they are NOT disputing recept. No matter what is said, ups would not pay if they thought their was a rat’s hair chance that it was never received.
 
the seller made an offer to refund 100% if the buyer sent it back. buyer chose to send it back to the manufacture. seller is free and clear at this point. IMO.

package must still be in the facility somewhere because i'm almost positive they're scanned before being put on a truck. receipt should have tracking number as well. packages just don't disappear into thin air.
 
being devils advocate,

from the barrel mfg company they dont even know if you put a barrel in the box, and if you did..is it their barrel
The barrel maker filed a claim. If he has any reason to believe there is fraud then he should never file a claim.

By filing, paying and accepting the funds both UPS and the barrel maker have stipulated to the basics: The barrel was lost by UPS

On a side note, they usually weigh it.
 
the seller made an offer to refund 100% if the buyer sent it back. buyer chose to send it back to the manufacture. seller is free and clear at this point. IMO.

package must still be in the facility somewhere because i'm almost positive they're scanned before being put on a truck. receipt should have tracking number as well. packages just don't disappear into thin air.
Yea that is how I would see it. The seller is off the hook.

I have had packages disappear. Also they can be misdelivered and the person who receives it never lets them know, either through greed or laziness.
 
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If you have ever tried to deal with "insurance" from any of the big 3 shippers (USPS, UPS, FedEx) you may see why the barrel maker didn't pay for "insurance". It is VERY difficult to get any of the shipping companies I mentioned to pay a claim. I am speaking from personal experiences.
I've had to use USPS insurance claim three times over the last several years and they paid the claim in a reasonable amount of time.
 
Tough call, I bet all parties involved learned something. Not blaming but I bet in the future OP would return the defective item to the seller instead of the manufacturer/retailer.
 
I've had to use USPS insurance claim three times over the last several years and they paid the claim in a reasonable amount of time.
That's awesome. I have had multiple rejected, and I was able to provide all supporting documents they requested.
 
Your going to eat this one OP. Unless the UPS hub finds they misplaced it or they have it on camera for you

You cleared the seller of this when you decided to keep it

The person who did the work on the barrel sent you a label. In their defense until they receive the barrel back they have no way of knowing if

- you actually purchased one of their barrels
- If they did the threading job or someone else

As your not the original buyer

Right now the barrel maker probably views the OP as someone who is trying to get them for a new barrel or the insurance $$. Questioning if there was anything shipped in the first place

If your known to the maker. Frequent customer or have an account they’ll likely work with you more to save face. But in the end it’s just a shitty circumstance your in
 
Surprised UPS filed the claim honestly. A little off topic I sold a PVS14 shipped and insured in full and the gain knob got bent. Filed the claim so they could repair it. They denied it saying it was improperly packaged which was absolute horseshit.
That is UPS and Fedex standard reply all the time...improper packaging!

I had UPS come in here for a claim on a lost barrel. We got the package back but it was empty. Two suits come in here and tell is it wasn't packaged properly. I blew a gasket! Tracy was actually the calm one this time. Asked me to calm down and asked me to go package up a solid piece of steel like we normally do (weighed 11# just on the steel).

Tracy, says to the guys....improperly packaged huh? He leaned back and wailed/thru that package against the concrete wall 20' away. Steel didn't come out! He stepped back again a 2nd time and thru it against the wall. Again it didn't come out! He said to the guys...so what is improper about the packaging? They couldn't get out of the building fast enough! They paid that claim!

Had UPS back in 2020 actually break a customers rifle stock that we shipped his complete rifle back to him. We get the whole thing back and you could actually see fork truck tire marks going over the cardboard box (rifle was shipped inside a hard case as well). Never got UPS to pay anything towards it. We ate the whole thing. Ordered the guy a new stock etc...and had to replace the damaged barrel as well.

They (the shippers) are flat out evil to deal with!

Later, Frank
Bartlein Barrels
 
When the barrel maker sent the label he took responsibility. The contract for shipment was between him and the shipping company, UPS. He should have opted for enough insurance to cover his “cost” (not even retail) of replacing the barrel or for the amount the buyer paid, whichever was less.

The time to discuss the buyer’s claim for warranty was before the label was issued. In this day and age there are plenty of ways to do this with digital pictures etc.

There is way too much BS in this industry when it comes to insuring shipments. ALL labels that I issue are guaranteed by me either through self insuring or actual paid insurance.

I have one custom product in which customers ship a part to me. They get an address from me and THEY ship it. In an email I send them the address and tell them to insure it for $200 to me. On the return it is on my label and insured by me. I make this very clear.

If I were issuing the label I would insure, file a claim and replace the missing product.
 
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The barrel maker filed a claim. If he has any reason to believe there is fraud then he should never file a claim.

By filing, paying and accepting the funds both UPS and the barrel maker have stipulated to the basics: The barrel was lost by UPS

On a side note, they usually weigh it.

barrel maker filed a claim...we dont know why

its his sticker and he might be protecting himself
possibly mfg will put this through insurance and needs proper paperwork
mfg has a 5% yearly budget of lost goods he accrues funds against

there are a million reasons of "why"

just because they weigh it doesnt meant that what they weighed is a barrel

did the mfg put the exact weight on a communication and sticker?

was the mfg asked to be informed if the weight is not exact

not picking but this why hand shake deals went out the window with steam engines

just not enough information
 
IME, it is just a handoff. the company that printed the label has the receipt, the tracking number was on the label
The shipping companies in probably 98% of the cases force the shipper to file the claim.

In this case I would assume if the barrel maker (I don't know who it is in this case just putting my .02 in here) sent the pre printed shipping label I would think they would have to file the claim even though they didn't ship but it was on they're shipping label.

The OP is stuck it seems either way. He can try filing the claim but UPS will probably say he can't do it because he didn't create the label.

If the maker pre printed the label and only insured it for a $100...that's all your going to get.

USPS is the worse trying to file a claim out of all of them. I've already seen it take us 9 months to get paid and better have kept all your documents because even if one is missing....they won't pay the claim. So virtually nothing ships from us USPS.

Later, Frank
Bartlein Barrels
 
That is UPS and Fedex standard reply all the time...improper packaging!

I had UPS come in here for a claim on a lost barrel. We got the package back but it was empty. Two suits come in here and tell is it wasn't packaged properly. I blew a gasket! Tracy was actually the calm one this time. Asked me to calm down and asked me to go package up a solid piece of steel like we normally do (weighed 11# just on the steel).

Tracy, says to the guys....improperly packaged huh? He leaned back and wailed/thru that package against the concrete wall 20' away. Steel didn't come out! He stepped back again a 2nd time and thru it against the wall. Again it didn't come out! He said to the guys...so what is improper about the packaging? They couldn't get out of the building fast enough! They paid that claim!

Had UPS back in 2020 actually break a customers rifle stock that we shipped his complete rifle back to him. We get the whole thing back and you could actually see fork truck tire marks going over the cardboard box (rifle was shipped inside a hard case as well). Never got UPS to pay anything towards it. We ate the whole thing. Ordered the guy a new stock etc...and had to replace the damaged barrel as well.

They (the shippers) are flat out evil to deal with!

Later, Frank
Bartlein Barrels
I had a package that was run over by a forklift. UPS called and went on about 2” penetration. Fortunately I was quick enough to argue that since this was run over by a fork with lift, the 2 inch penetration rule was mute because it would’ve been damaged anyways. They paid the claim. It was only 300 bucks so .

Yeah the best plan of action is to have no claims, it at all possible. Hard to do if you ship a lot volume.
 
It's time to call Judge Judy.

OP, here's a pro tip.

ANYTIME a package gets dropped off for shipping using any of the big shippers you will get a RECEIPT WITH A TRACKING NUMBER ON IT.

From your post you said it wasn't scanned and just disappeared.
 
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In my opinion it would have been cheap advertising to take care of the barrel for free. I don't know the smith's situation and everything is relative. Maybe the few hundred dollars was a make or brake amount for them and they really had no proof from the customer that it was even their problem to own.


if what you say were true (which it hurts my brain that it isnt), how are companies and suppliers that are below par quality and customer service levels still backordered and profitable in this indsutry?

for some reason the firearms industry:

has a short memory
VERRRRY price driven
wiling to deal with enormous inaccurate lead times
supplier loyalty to a fault, yet they will complain about said supplier

the firearms industry is still run like a mom and pop candy story in 1950
 
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Are you saying this is how you would have handled this?
No that's not how I would've handled it. I would've have it insured for at least some sort of replacement costs. Gotta figure in shop time etc...This way either you or I will at least get something to cover something somewhere.

If that's all they are telling you then it sounds like your stuck. That's what I was saying.

Also if it was something that we did/made here and it was wrong and couldn't fix it properly I'd make you a new one.
 
No that's not how I would've handled it. I would've have it insured for at least some sort of replacement costs. Gotta figure in shop time etc...This way either you or I will at least get something to cover something somewhere.

If that's all they are telling you then it sounds like your stuck. That's what I was saying.

Also if it was something that we did/made here and it was wrong and couldn't fix it properly I'd make you a new one.
Based on your postings here on SH, you come across as a professional and that is what I would have expected you to say. I look forward to purchasing one of your barrels one day.....
 
Had UPS back in 2020 actually break a customers rifle stock that we shipped his complete rifle back to him. We get the whole thing back and you could actually see fork truck tire marks going over the cardboard box (rifle was shipped inside a hard case as well).

We've got packages that were delivered with the dual tire marks from the delivery trucks ran right over them, Fedex is like, tire tracks, nope was there when we picked it up, you must have trucks inside the building with the same tires and spacing as our truck...

Had other stuff delivered where they ran a forklift through the middle of the equipment and were like... what do you mean you have a problem with us making new holes for the forklift to work?
 
OP,

It my opinion that you fucked yo as soon as you didn’t send it back to the seller when they offered to refund you.
However, once the original manufacturer send you a return label they, in my opinion, take ownership of the situation.

Yes. Technically they could be very suspicious of you sending in the wrong barrel and all that, but with the $100 they got back, they could have just kept and sent out a new barrel at a much more minimal cost to them and like someone said above, would have been some good advertising for them. They can even write that shit off as a “donation” if they wanted and be out nothing but a little time.

Shitty situation all the way around. I wish you luck.